The present invention broadly relates to the winding-up of substantially flat products, especially printed products arriving in an imbricated formation, onto a winding core and, more specifically, pertains to a new and improved apparatus for the winding-up of printed products, such as newspapers, magazines and the like, together with a winding band or strap, which is kept under tensional load, onto a winding core or body to form a wound product package.
Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention is of the type comprising a bearing arrangement for the rotatable bearing and driving of the winding core or body, and a conveyor-belt arrangement which is freely revolvingly structured and partially trains or wraps around, in underfeed, the winding core or body or, as the case may be, the product package located thereon, the conveyor-belt arrangement being driven by such partial wrap-around contact to lead the printed products, which are to be wound up, to the winding core or, as the case may be, the already partially formed product package. There is also provided a winding-band spool, which is brakeable in that braking means effective thereupon are provided for outfeeding the winding band or strap wound up thereon during the winding-up of the printed products, and which is drivable in that driving means effective thereupon are provided for receiving the winding band or strap with the free end thereof connectable thereto during the unwinding of the winding band or strap from the winding core.
An apparatus for winding up as well as unwinding printed products in conjunction with a winding band or strap onto a package or from a package is known from and disclosed in, for example, European Patent Application No. 0,281,790, published Sep. 14, 1988 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,336, granted Feb. 6, 1990, and European Patent Application No. 0,298,267, published Jan. 11, 1989. This prior art apparatus comprises a carriage elevationally displaceable along a vertical threaded spindle, at which carriage there is provided a bearing arrangement for the winding core supporting the product package. The bearing arrangement comprises a drive motor, in order to drive the winding core deposited on the bearing arrangement. Below the bearing arrangement there is provided a belt conveyor having two loose or non-taut conveyor belts arranged in a lateral spaced relationship to one another. The belt conveyor is mounted in a manner similar to a rocker member and pre-biased against the product package. The conveyor belts are driven solely by the rotating winding core or, as the case may be, the rotating product package thereon, in that the conveyor belts partially train or wrap around the aforesaid winding core or product package, respectively. At the rocker member of the belt conveyor there is freely rotatably mounted a deflection roll, around which there is guided the winding band incoming from the product package, and from which the winding band extends to a winding-band spool, which is stationarily mounted at a frame and driven by drive means of its own. For winding up the incoming printed products, the winding core is driven in the product wind-up sense of rotation of the controlled drive motor of the bearing arrangement, while the winding-band supply spool is coupled to a torque or moment-controlled servo direct-current machine, which operates with a brake slip to tension the winding band. While unwinding the printed products from the winding core, the latter is driven by the drive motor in the product wind-off sense of rotation, and the servo direct-current machine driving the winding-band supply spool operates with a drive slip to keep the winding band tensioned or taut. This known apparatus is particularly suitable for winding or unwinding printed products onto or from a large package, whereby the ratio that the diameter of the finished package bears to the diameter of the winding core is high, typically 3:1 up to 5:1. This prior art apparatus is in terms of its drive means and, in particular, in terms of the control of the different motors or machines complicated in construction and design and requires a corresponding constructional and manufacturing expenditure.
An apparatus for winding up printed products that are arranged in an imbricated formation or array, onto a winding core, and in which, prior to the start of the actual winding operation, the winding band or strap is drawn off of a supply spool arranged internally of the winding core and wound upon an external winding-band spool member, is known from and disclosed in, for example, Swiss Patent No. 652,379, published Nov. 15, 1985 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,750, granted Aug. 6, 1985. To detach the winding-band end from the supply-spool package, there is provided internally of the winding core a pin member which transversely bears at the circumference of the supply-spool package. When the supply spool is rotated in the unwinding direction thereof, the band end is detached from the supply-spool package by the spring biased pin member. During further rotation of the supply spool, the band end is guided to a feed opening or slot and departs through such opening, is then guided through a pair of feed or advance rolls and thereafter displaced by the action of guide means located at a rocker member, which serves to feed the printed products to the winding core, towards the winding-band spool member. The winding band then travels over a deflection roll and is conducted by another rocker member to the circumference of the winding-band spool member. When a number of winding layers or plies of the winding band are wound upon the winding-band spool member, the separate drive is pivoted together with the driven roll of the pair of feed or advance rolls out of the range of the winding core. If the winding band comprises a Velcro fastener or zipper to provide a connection facility between both of the outermost winding layers, such Velcro fastener or zipper is arranged in spaced relationship to the tip of the winding-band end, in order to form a tab protruding beyond the Velcro fastener or zipper, so that the aforesaid pin member can appropriately detach the tab end of the winding band and the pair of feed or advance rolls can seize or take hold of the winding band before the Velcro fastener is to be opened.
A similarly structured detaching device, which is arranged at the rocker member for feeding printed products to the winding core or body, for detaching the free end of the winding band from a winding-band supply arranged in a covered circumferential ring-shaped groove of the winding core or body is known, for example, from European Patent Application No. 0,280,949, published Sep. 7, 1988 and its cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,105, granted Jan. 3, 1989. The winding-band end detached from the nearest band convolution or coil of the winding-band supply is deflected and guided in the direction of a take-up or receiver spool remote from the rocker member.
Furthermore, a Velcro fastener or zipper for a winding band is known from and disclosed in, for example, European Patent Application No. 0,310,784, published Apr. 12, 1989 and the commonly assigned, copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/585,033. The winding band or strap is wound together with printed products upon a product package and comprises at its outer end region, on the side facing the package, a hook pile which interacts with a loop pile provided on the outer side of the winding band or strap. The loop pile extends over a certain length of the winding band or strap, so that the hook pile always can bear against a region of the loop pile, irrespective of the diameter of the product package. The hook pile as well as the loop pile flank a spacer, the thickness of which at best corresponds with the height of the associated pile. To open the Velcro fastener or zipper, a spattel-like tool is introduced from the end of the winding band or strap between the spacers respectively assigned to the hook pile and the loop pile.